Second U.S.-N.K. summit anticipated in near future: Seoul official

SEOUL, Oct. 8 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's national security advisor said Monday that he expects a second summit between the United States and North Korea to be held in the near future.

Chung Eui-yong made the remark after U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo visited North Korea on Sunday to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

"We've assessed that Pompeo's visit appeared to yield a lot of accomplishments," Chung said at the start of a meeting among senior officials from the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae, the government and the ruling Democratic Party (DP).

"A second summit between the U.S. and North Korea is likely to be held in the near future. Negotiations over denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula are expected to gain big traction," he added.

Pompeo made his fourth trip to North Korea on Sunday to resume stalled talks over North Korea's denuclearization.

Pompeo said in Seoul that he had "good, productive conversations" with the North's leader on the regime's denuclearization process and the holding of the second summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Kim.

His visit was arranged after Trump canceled Pompeo's planned trip to Pyongyang in August, citing a lack of progress for the North's denuclearization.

President Moon Jae-in worked as a mediator between the U.S. and North Korea by holding his third summit with Kim last month in Pyongyang.

"As the two Koreas agreed in Pyongyang, we will do our best to realize Chairman Kim's visit to Seoul within this year," Chung said, referring to the North Korean leader's vow to travel to the South at an early date.

The participants in the meeting agreed to focus on implementing follow-up measures to the Pyongyang summit and securing parliamentary ratification of the April inter-Korean summit agreement, according to DP officials.

"They agreed to accelerate the implementation of inter-Korean agreements, including re-linking railways and roads across the border and expanding social and sports exchanges, and to produce tangible outcomes as soon as possible," Hong Ihk-pyo, a spokesman for the DP, told a press briefing.

"The two Koreas also plan to push for consultations soon to flesh out details about their latest agreements that include the diversification of ways to reunite separated families and the pursuit of forestry cooperation and a joint response to contagious disease," he added.

Meanwhile, on the economy, the participants pledged efforts to boost temporary jobs at an early date as they viewed the current job market situation as grave, the DP official.

Hong added that they also agreed to reinvigorate investment in local areas, accelerate innovation-led growth and spur entrepreneurship.

The Korean economy is slowing down amid faltering investment and tepid consumer spending. Job growth remains bleak, with the number of newly employed people rising a meager 3,000 in August from a year earlier.

The September job data will be released on Friday, with the finance minister earlier saying that he does not rule out the possibility of a contraction.